S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol81 No3 March 2018
This Magazine is sponsored by SAFLIA
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Business Barometer: We have to try harder
- Haesloop Agencies: Still macro challenges, but strong at company level.
- Leather Basics: Price is still the major issue.
- Bella Bianca: Signs of an upturn.
- The Azula Collective: Energy, experience and optimism.
- Bass Marketing: Green shoots despite the gloom.
Second hand apparel
- Is the banning of importation of second-hand clothes and shoes a panacea to industrialisation in East Africa?.
In the news
- Police shoe scam in Kenya.
- Zimbabwe's Millennium Footwear records uptick in local demand.
Technology
- Shoepack: Making the most of your lasts.
Footwear and the environment
- Can footwear ever give waste the boot?
- 'World's most comfortable shoe' now made from SA invasive trees.
- Is algae the next big performance story in footwear?
Trade fairs and academic conferences
- UITIC: First speakers announced - Making shoes without stitching and lasting and The development of emerging business models.
- Malawi fair invitation.
- Hub facilitates East African sourcing for US companies.
Notice Board
- Obituary for Roger Benjamin.
International
- With store traffic down, H&M throws resources behind digital.
- How President Trump's trade wars with China and Europe could impact footwear firms.
- Crocs shoes design loses EU patent.
- Is China's manufacturing dominance dipping?
Advertisers in this Issue
Chillisource/Shoepack (7), Katz Footwear (5), PMC Group (4), Source Africa (OFC), 20th UITIC International Technical Footwear Congress (2).
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Footwear Industry Articles
- Manufacturer-buyer event: Among the manufacturer comments
The 2-day Retail Buyer Engagement & Manufacturer Onboarding Programme on 01 and 02 July was part of an effort to kickstart the R-CTFL Masterplan – which, from a footwear perspective at least, has appeared stalled.It was sponsored by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and implemented through the R-CTFL Masterplan Footwea ...moreHow FootJoy’s superbly crafted shoes influenced my life
An Informative & Nostalgic Letter written in April 2025 to two executives at Acushnet (USA) – A leading golf corporation which includes FootJoy Shoes.RE: FootJoy & II recall the very first pair of FootJoy golf shoes my late father bought for me in July 1976. This wasn’t my first interaction with the brand that I had al ...more2026 Comrades shoe count: Asics stays top, Adidas up, Nike slides into 4th place
Marathon shoe counts are among the few footwear statistics available in SA. The Sweat Shop’s Jax Snyman has extracted this year’s Comrades Marathon figures for comparison with last year.His assessment: “Asics up. Adidas properly up. New Balance steady although now 3rd largest. Nike down and drop in rankings to 4th. Sauco ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- African leather businesses holding LWG and SLF ratingsAs African leather manufacturers strive to grow their exports, the number which have qualified for ratings by the Leather Working Group (LWG) and the Sustainable Leather Foundation (SLF) is growing.By country, LWG lists the following:Algeria: Sarl Tannerie Ain FakrounBurkina Faso: Mona Industry SARL.Egypt: El Montaza Tannery, Piel Color C ...moreSA’s 2025 automotive leather exports: Down on 2024, but still good, on the face of it
Figures from NAAMSA’s Automotive Trade Manual 2026 Automotive components – exports by product Component category 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 % of total export value Ran ...moreWorld first - compost: Possible, desirable, not necessarily simple
The world of compostable leather is not as historically accurate as the industry would like it to be. The definition of leather is: “hide or skin with its original fibrous structure more or less intact, tanned to be imputrescible (rot-proof). Hair or wool may or may not have been removed, and the material can include split layers or ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- CONSIDERING A PPE MATRIX
What Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) do we need to have on site to reduce and manage the workplace and environmental exposure risks to our employees?Safety and mining legislation place the responsibility on employers to ensure that they provide and maintain working environments that are safe and without risk to the health on employees ...more2nd SA PPE conference being planned for 2027 under the heading ‘Smart protection: the next era of PPE’Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Technology, artificial intelligence, connected devices and data are transforming the way we think about personal protection equipment — from how PPE is procured and selected, to how it is used, monitored and managed in the workplace.After the successful launch of the South African PPE conference hel ...moreObituary: Colin Battle, agent (17/04/1957-27/07/2026): Our sales trips were a whole life experience
Dearest Lee, Greg & Sammy,I send my sincerest condolences & wishes of long and healthy lives to all of you, after the passing of your beloved Colin. I’ve no doubt that once the pain of losing an adored husband and father starts to subside, you will be left the glorious memories of your lives together with a most wonderful an ...more
